Page 202 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

180 Cha pte r Ele v e n

forgotten. If an engineer completed ten projects, for example, and nine were very suc-
cessful, with one having some problems, he was often chastised for the failure and it was
seldom forgotten. Should another engineer complete maybe only three projects and all
three were successful, frequently he would be viewed as a superior engineer. It was the
“It only takes one ah-shit to cancel 100 attaboys” aspect of that culture. It was joked
about, at least behind closed doors. But in the end it caused engineers to hesitate before
taking even the slightest chances. Consequently, qualities like imagination, creativity,
and innovation were repressed. As you might expect, when these qualities became
repressed, other qualities would rise as being important. In this culture, company poli-
tics became a dominant quality that helped in salary increases and promotions.
These qualities—dress, training, and development—are all important cultural
aspects. They need to be understood and managed just as costs, profits, and customer
satisfaction are understood and managed.

How Are the Cultural Rules Set?
Cultures are created and sustained by way of two major factors: the history of the group,
and the actions of the few top people. These few top people are the ones who set the
cultural rules. Whether the rules are stated or silent, they are made and enforced by the
top few people. Most cultural rules are not stated,
and when we are unaware of them, this makes them
“In studying the history potentially very dangerous.
of the human mind, one is
The Most Common Rules: The Silent Rules
impressed again and again
by the fact that the growth of This seemingly odd aspect of cultures, the silent
rules, creates a major cultural problem. It is often the
the mind is the widening of
reason why those within the culture, especially the
the range of consciousness,
rule-makers, simply do not see what is happening
and that each step forward
within their own culture. For example, in the culture
has been a most painful and
of my early engineering job, it was not unusual for
laborious achievement.…Ask some high-level manager to comment and even criti-
those who have tried to intro- cize the organization for being so “close to the
”
duce a new idea! vest”—for not being willing to step out and be inno-
Carl Jung vative. He might say something like, “Why is it that
the new ideas always come from our competition?”
Or maybe, “Where is the rugged individualism we Americans are so proud of?” In fact,
he might say this just minutes after having reprimanded someone for some mistake
that was made. Once you become aware of what is happening within your culture,
some of these comments are almost laughable—that is, if they were not so tragic.
The silent rules would not be so damaging, except (more often than not) we are not
consciously aware of them. And if we are not conscious of them, they control us; we do
not control them. This is not only dangerous, it leads us into all kinds of aberrations.

Healthy Cultures
For a business culture to be “healthy,” it must have two basic qualities. It must be strong
and it must be a culture that is appropriate for the business.
To be strong, a culture must have two characteristics.
• Its thoughts, beliefs, and actions must be widely accepted, acknowledged, and
practiced across all levels and functions of the group.